Davis Cup Teams and Players

The Argentina Davis Cup team is the only team at the 2016 semi-final stage not to have won the Davis Cup in their entire history. They have failed to win the title on each of the four occasions when they have made it to the finals. Argentina have especially been cruelly hurt three times, 2006, 2008, and 2011, since the turn of the millennium and they will just about to be hoping that 2016 is their year. Argentina, though, have faced quite a lot of disappointments in other sports, particularly football, in the last couple of years and victory at the Davis Cup 2016 would be a redemption of the entire nation.

Juan Martín del Potro remains as one of the most successful players from Argentina, but he has not been in great form. Currently, at 142 in the ATP rankings, he is probably the best bet at the disposal of the team. Leonardo Mayer, Federico Delbonis, and Guido Pella are in the squad to take on Great Britain.

The Davis Cup Croatia team is largely seen as an outside contender for the title, but they gather all their experience from 2005 and aim for the title. 2005 remains an unlikely for the Croatia team after they managed to win the title against all the odds by beating Slovakia in the final. Till date, this has been their one and only appearance in the final. In fact, they are even appearing in the semi-final stage for the first time since 2009, which ended in a 4-1 loss to the Czech Republic.

The team will be heavily dependent on players like Marin Čilić and Borna Ćorić, who are at 12th and 54th in the ATP singles ranking. Čilić was not part of the squad that won in 2005, but he remains the most experienced after having been involved since 2006.

The France Davis Cup team has a lot of history after having first competed in 1904. Since then, they have lifted a whopping nine titles, although the majority of them came during the 1920s and 30s, in their history. Even though they are the fifth seed at the 2016 Davis Cup, they have been seen as favourites to overcome unseeded Croatia in the semifinals. Despite the immense history, France has struggled when it comes to recent Davis Cup editions. Their last victory came in 2001, but the team has already suffered three disappointments in the final since then.

The team was knocked out of the 2015 edition by eventual winners Great Britain. They have been at their best during the 2010 and 2014 editions when they reached the final, but only losing to Serbia and Switzerland respectively. After his recent injury, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga’s may be a blow to the French squad for the semifinals.

Undoubtedly one of the strongest Davis Cup team around, Great Britain is the overwhelming favourite to win the title in 2016. The team also comes to defend the Davis Cup that they won last season. The 2015 edition of the tournament was branded as the Britain Davis Cup since they managed to remain as one of the strongest throughout the tournament despite having been unseeded. They went on to defeat an equally unseeded Belgian team in the final. However, this was the first victory for the team after 79 years.

The Davis Cup 2016, which is into its 105th edition in its long history, is already having the same effect as a World Cup tournament only for tennis, as Britain have already shown a lot of hunger and desire to retain the title. One of their strongest players is Andy Murray, but the likes of Kyle Edmund, Jamie Murray, Dan Evans, and Dominic Inglot will be hoping to support as well.